Agree with this Denver sportswriter...

[QSmokey]

Today's question: Can the Chargers go from worst to first in the AFC West?

Jeff Legwold, Denver Broncos reporter: The Chargers are walking a difficult line in trying to balance how much they ask franchise quarterbackPhilip Rivers to do and how much help they give him. Rivers is still playing at a high enough level to anchor a playoff team. But 661 attempts -- that's how many times he threw in 2015 -- that’s out of whack. Only one of the six quarterbacks who finished with at least 600 attempts last season was in the playoffs -- Tom Brady. And any chance the Chargers have of escaping the AFC West basement to the top of the division hinges on what kind of support system they can produce. Yes, Rivers slinging it around makes for pretty stats, but the team hasn’t posted double-digit wins in a season since 2009. There are plenty of personnel executives around the league who look at the Chargers roster and see the let-Rivers-handle-it approach happening again. If they are going to turn their fortunes around, they just might have to ask their quarterback to do less. Their fortunes don’t really rest on Rivers, they rest on how well they protect him, how well they run the ball when he doesn’t throw it and how well they play defense. The Chargers aren’t going anywhere in the division until they build a roster that reflects a commitment to all those things.

Discuss...

[BlazingBolt]

So to summarize: Rivers is not the problem

[Guest]

I don't agree with that person.

The offensive line should be much improved. We all know that they need to stay healthy, and most writers ignore that part of what has been going wrong. We have upgraded the line. We have brought in the guy who
helped block for Gordon and helped him break an NCAA single-game rushing record behind an offensive line that wasn't NFL caliber. Even if Gordon sucks, Branden Oliver doesn't.
Allen is healthy, Stevie Johnson is healthy, and we brought in Benjamin who will help take the top off of defenses. Gates is back, and we also drafted the top tight end in the country. That's "no help", huh?

[6025]

The guy is simply saying that the Chargers need a balanced offensive attack if they expect to win enough to make a run in the playoffs. Not an unreasonable assessment IMO.

[TTK]

The guy is simply saying that the Chargers need a balanced offensive attack if they expect to win enough to make a run in the playoffs. Not an unreasonable assessment IMO.

Yeah, not a news flash here.

Basically, Rivers needs the rest of the team (offense and defense) to step up.

[Steve]

If we had Denver's corp of WR, and a TE like Gates was in his prime, Rivers could make a run on one of the highest scoring offenses of all time. But we don't so we have to be more diversified. Johnson and Benjamin are good WR, and they can hurt good defenses, but they are not the kind of players who can vicitimize Denver's or KC defense for a 150 yards per game twice per year. They need help from the rest of the offense.

The big thing is we need the offense to shorten the games and help put pressure on the other team. I think the D is going to be a lot better than last year, but if they are going to achieve at a high level, they need some help. Playing keep away, and forcing teams to score on almost every drive would help out chances of looking like a top team.

I think the guy was looking for big name FA help. But since top name FA help is usually so disappointing, I think it has hurt us one bit. The rookies will be a bit of a crap shoot, they always are. But since Hunter Henry , Watt and so many of the others are being given smaller roles to fill, I think there is an excellent chance for them to come in and be key contributors. I liked the FA we did bring in, if for no other reason then they signed shorter deals, and they got players who still have something to prove. They will fill major roles that most idiot sportswriters will minimize because they don't know shit about the sports they cover.

[blueman]

Don't agree. The roster right now does reflect the things the writer implies it doesn't. Seems a non-starter.

[6025]

Don't agree. The roster right now does reflect the things the writer implies it doesn't. Seems a non-starter.

Everyone thought like you last year but the results on the field told a different story. I think it's fair for the writer to have a "show me on the field" point of view.

[blueman]

Last year's roster was also solid. Play on the field during the season reflected players in key roles not on the roster at this time last year. Hence non-starter.

Show me on the field is fine, but this writer seems to be looking at changes to the roster right now, and saying there aren't any, or any that matter (i.e. TT hasn't done his job, which I would disagree with, as well as the writer above if he bothered to read what he wrote).

[Grinners]

I can see how the author reflects on LAST YEAR but injuries and the timid demeanor of our 1st round pick had a lot to do with our short-falls. We only won 4 games, but we only lost most of our other games by one score. We were close and by the last quarter of play the defense was playing well.
This year I can see that the O-Line will improve along with the D-Line and that is where we will make up for our weaknesses. I can also see that Gordon now realizes that he is part of the BIG LEAGUE and step up to play, I thought the NFL was to big for him last year, but its just Football on steroids so I HOPE and FEEL he should improve a lot........................... I can see us sneaking into the Playoffs, but for me the glass is only half empty or is it half full....................?

[RTPbolt]

Frankly i agree with the writer. The lines were our weakness that drove our severe inability to run block and forced a pass happy scheme to emerge. He doues fail to mention we retooled the line last year but injuries ravagesld us even worse than the prior year. Outside of the crnter position i liked our line last year but injuries were the death sentence.

I think with 2 new additions at center/guard thru FA and the draft (i dont count the 7th rounder) and keeping last years guys we actually are pretty set on the OL on paper. They need to gel and Tuerk needs to heal but i think we could see a huge change in OL play to revive the run game. Whiz being back with new tool in Benjamin, Hunter and Stevie i think could turn us into a balanced and dictating offense.

Our D has shored up a few key positions with Mebane and Bosa and i like or CB strength now with Howard and even Lowery should fill in ok at safety.

Imo we make targeted move with players and coaches. Get a normal injury rate and we should be back in the mix imo. Denver has lost key players and may struggle on offense without a leader at QB...they can be beat. Our division has parity which will even out the division. We have done enough on paper to play competitive ball imo.

[Millionaire Wussy]

As long as we go in assuming our Center, LG, and LT will get injured early and often we might stand a chance at being competitive. We have to have great depth at those spots because we'll need it. We have to think that way.

And I don't like our running back situation much. We still don't have anyone running the ball that has shown any kind of consistency as an actual running back. Of course if our o-line hasn't improved overall it won't matter much.

Our defense needs to finally put their talent to good use and stop running away from making tackles. This team is like the Bad News Bears before Matthau turned them around.